Several applications exist in which it is necessary to provide a mechanical and electrical connection to the conductive sheath of a shielded cable.
An example of such an application would be in providing telephone service to a building. Typically, one or more telephone lines are contained in a shielded cable running from the external telephone company system into telephone interface equipment located on or in the building. The shielded cable running from the telephone company typically comprises a sheath of electrically conductive material formed around the insulated conductors forming the telephone lines. The conductive sheath is grounded to a ground wire to prevent electromagnetic interference.
The telephone interface equipment where the grounding of the conductive sheath is accomplished is conventional and may take a wide variety of known configurations. After connection to the telephone interface system, each one of the telephone lines to be used to provide telephone service is then connected through conventional wiring to the building phone system.
Other components in the telephone interface equipment must also be grounded to assist in preventing, for example, electromagnetic interference and to prevent damage to the system in the event of lightning.
Grounding of the conductive sheath and of the other components is typically accomplished through electrical connection to a ground wire running from the telephone interface equipment to a separate elongated ground rod sunk into the ground. Typically, a single grounding post is provided in the telephone interface box to which the shielded cable, the ground wire and the various other components to be grounded are all connected. The grounding wire is mechanically and electrically connected to the grounding post, as are the shielded cable and the various components, to accomplish the required ground connection. The grounding post is typically threaded to allow a nut to be tightened onto the grounding post so that all of the components, including the ground wire, are forced in mechanical and electrical contact with one another.
The end of the ground wire has to be bent or shaped into a hook or loop to fit around the grounding post. Due to the heavy gauge of the ground wire, this is a relatively hard task.
To provide an electrical connection between the conductive sheath and the grounding post, a separate bracket is secured to the conductive sheath. The bracket typically has at least one hook-like or hoop-like element which can be placed onto the grounding post. The requisite connection to the bracket is typically accomplished by welding or soldering. The bracket's hook-like or hoop-like element is then secured to the grounding post so that a mechanical and electrical connection is established between the bracket and the grounding post.
While the foregoing bracket and grounding post arrangement provides adequate grounding of the shielded cable, the time, cost and complexity of installation is relatively high. The securing of the bracket to the shielded cable requires a relatively high amount of installation time and skill.
Additionally, a ground bracket which can be either attached to the telephone interface box during manufacture of the box or can be installed as retrofit equipment is desirable.